Foreword

Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2020: An OECD Scoreboard provides a comprehensive framework for policy makers and other stakeholders to monitor access to finance by SMEs and entrepreneurs. This report also constitutes a valuable tool to support the design and evaluation of policy measures, and to monitor the implications of financial reforms on access to finance and financing conditions for SMEs more generally. The 2020 report provides information about SMEs’ and entrepreneurs’ access to finance over the 2007-18 period. Based on data collected for the country profiles and information from demand-side surveys, it includes indicators on debt, equity and asset-based finance, as well as on financing framework conditions, complemented by information on recent public and private initiatives to support SME access to finance.

The 2020 report is the eight edition of this annual report. It presents data for 48 countries: Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the People’s Republic of China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, the Russian Federation, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Chapter 1 of this publication captures recent trends in SME and entrepreneurship finance, drawing on data received from experts from participating countries, as well as from external sources. It also provides an overview of major policy developments across Scoreboard countries. Chapter 2 puts the spotlight on a thematic issue of particular interest. This edition focuses on the evolution of SME financing policies since the financial crisis in 2008 and documents the shift from immediate crisis response measures to addressing more structural issues and putting in place the appropriate regulatory environment for Fintech. Chapter 3 contains profiles of SME and entrepreneurship developments, as well as relevant policies, for all 48 participating countries. The print edition of this publication includes a snapshot view with key facts and figures, while the more detailed, complete profiles, can be accessed online.

This publication was prepared by the SME and Entrepreneurship Division of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE/SMEE) under the guidance of the OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurs (WPSMEE) and the WPSMEE Informal Steering Group on SME and Entrepreneurship Financing. The initial findings were discussed at the meeting of the WPSMEE Informal Steering Group on SME Finance on 10 and 11 September 2019, and a more advanced version of the report was presented at the 56th meeting of the WPSMEE on 16 and 17 October 2019. The final report was approved by written procedure on 17 January 2020 [CFE/SME(2019)11/CHAP1/FINAL, CFE/SME(2019)11/CHAP2/FINAL and CFE/SME(2019)11/CHAP3/ADD/FINAL].